2004 Geography Bee

Peshawar, a city in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan, has
had strategic importance for centuries because of its location near what
historic pass? This was the final question in the 2004 National Geographic
Geography Bee in Washington, D.C., on May 26, 2004. The winner was
14-year-old Andrew Wojtanik of Overland Park, Kansas, who knew that the
answer was the Khyber Pass.

This was Andrew's second year in the national bee, open only to those
who had won their states' geography bees. He didn't make it to the final
round last year, but "experience definitely counts," he said. "You know
what the pressure is like and how the questions are going to be worded and
how hard they're going to be, and it's definitely an advantage."

To get ready for the competition, Andrew studied for about eight hours
every weekend and three hours on weekdays. In fact, he wrote and typed his
own almanac, containing 432 pages of information. He explained that "it's
got everything you need to know about all the countries -- its currency,
its ethnic groups, its mountains, rivers, all that stuff."

The national bee's 55 semifinalists included one contestant from each
of the 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S.
Virgin Islands, Pacific Territories, and Department of Defense Schools.
The final round, which had ten finalists, was moderated by Alex Trebek,
host of Jeopardy! and was broadcast on the National Geographic Channel. It
will be broadcast again on public television in June. For winning, Andrew
will recieve a $25,000 scholarship, a lifetime National Geographic
membership, and a trip to a Busch Gardens/Sea World Adventure Camp.

Here are a few more questions from this year's national bee. See if you
can get any of the answers.

Tourists often toss coins into the Trevi Fountain at the heart of
what city?

Alkmaar, a town famous for its cheese market, is on a canal with
access to the Waddenzee. Alkmaar is in which country?

Dagestan, a region that includes many different ethnic groups, is
located just west of what large body of water?

In March 2004 seven eastern European countries joined NATO, the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Of these new NATO members, name the
one that borders the Russian oblast of Kaliningrad.

Khark island is an important oil export terminal in the Persian
Gulf. This island belongs to what country?